Dude, Where’s The Wifi?
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I’ve lived in a lot of rural places and have had to get creative with accessing wifi and cell service. Sometimes my lack of connectivity resulted in some interesting multitasking — such as, bringing the laptop to the laundromat with five loads of pig-manure laundry.
There is still a gap in who has access to the internet in the United States, and most people who have a hard time accessing broadband live in rural areas. COVID-19 has only made it more obvious how important the internet is for accessing education, telemedicine, working from home and running businesses like farms.
Broadband is a utility that in many parts of the country has been privatized — it’s expensive to invest in the infrastructure in areas where there are fewer paying customers. The Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj has an episode, Why Your Internet Sucks, that explains this in-depth.
The USDA is investing in Rural Broadband with loans and grants. It looks like they are accelerating their efforts because of COVID-19. The Farm Bureau is in favor of investing in rural broadband.
This is good news for rural farmers. Internet speeds can also be the difference between consuming information and being able to produce content. Whose voices are missing online because their internet is too slow?
The National Association of Counties is working on documenting connectivity in America with the Testit App. It collects data on your location and does a speed test to check how fast your broadband is from your smartphone. This is good information for you to gauge if your internet is slow or if maybe your device is the problem.
Based on this data, they’ve compiled maps to illustrate where connectivity is an issue. I love that this gives citizens the tools to participate. If accessing high speed broadband is an issue in your area, definitely let your local elected officials know.
Of course, farmers and rural people are figuring out workarounds and are using a patchwork of appropriate technology. This includes hotspots, landlines, satellite internet, and going to the public library.
Farm Generations Cooperative knows that our users are likely to find themselves in places with poor connectivity. We are working to make sure that key aspects of our app, like updating inventory, can still work if you’re out of range.
Do you have any creative connectivity strategies? We would love to hear about them. Email leanna@farmgenerations.coop, schedule a call with me here, or if you’re not on the wifi right now, text us at (845) 377–5287.
